San Diego, Calif. (CNN) -- Twenty years ago, an editor at the Los Angeles Times told me the newspaper had changed the way it reported on Mexico. "Now we cover it as a local story," he said. Why not? There are more Mexicans living in Los Angeles than in any other city in the world except for Mexico City. From one end of the Golden State to another, Hispanics are a natural part of the cultural landscape. Mexican restaurants that are anything but exceptional don't stay open long because the competition is too stiff. Cities, counties, streets and subdivisions are named after Catholic saints. You hear Spanish in the air, and no longer question why that is. Most weekends, in many cities, there is a Mexican-style festival with food and music. Mariachis and margaritas are always on the menu.

About 70% of this population will be Mexican or
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Mexican-American.


LONDON, England (CNN) -- Britons including Prime Minister Gordon Brown have leapt to the defense of their creaking healthcare service after President Barack Obama's plans for a similar system in the United States were branded "evil" by Republicans. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown issued a heartfelt message of support for the NHS via Twitter. Tens of thousands of people have joined a Twitter group expressing pride in the UK's National Health Service (NHS), which offers free taxpayer-funded medical care to all British residents, while leading politicians have spoken out in support. Republican former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin earlier this week condemned Obama's plans to introduce a public heath insurance scheme as an "evil" move that would result in "death panels" deciding who would live or die.

Her criticism has been echoed by fellow Republicans in direct attacks on
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British's NHS.


Britain has been told to pay more than £10 million in unemployment benefit to eastern European migrants who have left Britain, returned home and now cannot find a job. Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia have demanded that Iain Duncan Smith’s department funds their jobless citizens because they once worked and paid national insurance in the UK. His department has refused because the migrants had not worked in the UK long enough to claim, but the three countries have threatened to issue a diplomatic protest. Czech labour minister Michaela Marksova-Tominova (right) said Britain owed her country £3million in  benefits under EU rules but Iain Duncan Smith (left) has refused to pay because the migrants didn't work long enough

If they succeed in getting the money, it could open the doors to claims from other
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European countries – many of which have high unemployment rates.